Springfiled Range Officer experience

bullseyeny · Post by **bullseyeny** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 10:13 am

How many people are having good luck with Range officer? What work have you had done to it? How well does it shoot? How did you set up the optics?

I am consdering a new 45 and want to see what people's thoughts are. Should I just buy the wad gun that springfield makes and be done with it?

plink182 · Post by **plink182** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 10:58 am

The RO is a great deal for a decent factory accurized 1911. I was very impressed with mine. The trigger out of the box was better than any mass produced 1911 I have owned. Mine is more accurate than I expected and can compete in bullseye at 50 foot day 1. (Just change the recoil spring to 13# and lighten the trigger to 3.5# by adjusting the sear spring and stuff in some wadcutter loads and enjoy.)

The Range Officer is a fantastic deal....if you can find one.

keith · Post by **keith** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 10:49 pm

Ive got one, I think its a very good gun as far as a production gun goes. Mine will shoot right at a inch @ 25yds . I did that with the open sights over a rolled up jacket. Ive since put a dot on it , hand fitted a tighter fitting barrel bushing and changed the slide stop pin to a .200 pin . the gun will shoot better than I can hold . If I had to guess it should be a sub 3'' gun @ 50yds with a load it likes...I shoot mainly indoors at 25yds and the gun is full capibile of chewing out the 10 ring on a 25yd slow fire target....BUT , if you get one will it shoot as well as mine? it may . keep in mind it is a factory gun but its held to a better standard so it should be a fine gun to start with. If your not a master level BE shooter it will be good enought and as you get better the gun itself can be up graded ..if you pockets are deeper and you can afford a full blow BE built gun go for it. if not the RO is a good place to start for sure.......as for me Bullseye shooting is a hobby and like I said I shoot 25yds indoors with a 1'' at 25 I'm completely happy with my purchase ..will try some 50yds this spring

Bob-Riegl · Post by **Bob-Riegl** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:37 am

My RO arrived with a beautiful match trigger and needed the pull to go from 5.8# to 3.5#---accomplished with a Clark sear spring. Put a 12# Woolff recoil spring and full length rod, Kart Bushing and clark Mount for Ultra Dot and a little lapping the rails with toothpaste. I now have a fantastic bullseye 1911. I have around 700 rounds through it and it's still far from being the gun it will eventually be. When the weather warms I will Ransom Rest the gun and see what it does at 50yards---I'm betting at a minimum 2" at 50 yards, if not a Kart barrel will go into it next. The total cost to up date this gun amounts to ~$190, the biggest expense being the Ultra Dot----Color me happy----"Doc"

rdl2001 · Post by **rdl2001** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:36 pm

I've had one for about 6 weeks now. Original trigger pull was a little over 6 pounds but very crisp. To lower the trigger pull I first polished the internal mating surfaces (trigger bow, disconnector, sear and hammer surfaces) using a fine ceramic stone. Also "adjusted" the main spring. Pull went down to approx 4 pounds. I did not like the look of the disconnector or sear. These are MIM parts and, to be frank, seemed quite crude- the disconnector "halves" were misaligned and the sear face which contacts the hammer looked really spotty under magnification (was neither flat nor polished). I've since replaced these with aftermarket machined parts (cylinder and slide). The original trigger was fine but I wanted a shorter reach- so also changed. The current trigger wt is 3# 4oz.

The gun functions flawlessly with both Win 230 gns FMJ (walmart) and a variety of reloads- 185 and 200 gn LSWCs. Am using 3.8 gns Clays for both- have not chronographed as yet. I actually bought the Wilson spring set but have not needed to change from the factory original- I have only noticed that it will not lock back after the last round- this has happened a few times out of approx 1200 reloads- this may be my fault as I've only just started to reload. And it did not happen with the factory ammo (probably another 6-700 rounds without a hiccup)

The fit and finish of the frame and slide is excellent. I do not have access to a ransom rest so cannot relate an absolute accuracy but would agree that it probably can group at 1-2 inches at 25 yards.

I am also looking for options to frame mount a red dot- my question to the previous responders ( Keith and Bob-Riegl) is: what are the specifics as to how you mounted the red dot? If drill and tap needed, did you do this yourselves? What mounts in particular did you use?

I did a lot of internet "research" before deciding on the Springfield- the bottom line on the RO is that it lived up to its glowing reviews. This is my first 1911 and I bought it to compete in NRA conventional pistol (bullseye).

I got mine for about $750 shipped and the general consensus seems to be that it is well worth it for that price range.

keith · Post by **keith** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 10:20 pm

rdl2001,
I got a clark slide mount for my RO ....I had a gunsmith drill and tap the slide for me.....I also cut the slide mount down so it fit between the open sights....Once you mount the red dot....you will most likely need to change your recoil spring .....3.8 clays with a 185 or a 200 you will need something in the 11-13 range I would guess ...I have a 11 in my gun with 3.8 BE and 200gr LSWC's but clays is alittle more of a snappier powder....I tryed a 14lb spring and the cases just barely fell of of the ejection port. hope this helps

Bob-Riegl · Post by **Bob-Riegl** » Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:22 am

My process was the same for my gun----I had a friend machine and mount the clark slide also and the method he used was to also machine the bottom rear of the slide to accept the rear sight as well. I use a 12#Wolff recoil spring with 3.8 gr of Bullseye and 200 grain SWC TSM heads, Winchester brass and Federal primers. "Doc"

lonegunman · Post by **lonegunman** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:20 pm

I bought one last summer, it had a slick 3.5 pound trigger and was fit as well as any bullseye pistol I have owned. The first five shots of Federal Gold Medal Match I put thru it, chewed the "X" out of the x-ring in a tight knot. It shoots great and I have used it instead of my dot gun just for fun a few times.

On the flipside, I had a fellow shooter buy one just last month. It was not fitted nearly as well and the trigger was a solid 5 pounder. I have a feeling as demand goes up, quality and concern for quality are dropping quickly.

I'm sure it shoots ok,but it will probably shoot worse than my early production gun.

djsomers · Post by **djsomers** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 6:40 pm

Bought one last spring. Trigger crisp and smooth. Adjusted to 3.5lbs. I have not touched the internals except for the trigger pull. Had a little problem early on with reloads with LSWC but shortened the OAL a bit and feeds smoothly.

I dont have much to compare it to as it is my first .45 but I love it. No regrets.